


Wet Kisses

by archer_and_lionprince



Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Dawn (mentioned), Fluff, M/M, Magic, Mer!AU, Romance, alternative universe, but Anders is still Bragi, might add tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-18
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-08 02:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3192638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archer_and_lionprince/pseuds/archer_and_lionprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anders Johnson only wanted to check on his fish and then enjoy the rest of his day lazing on the couch with a few beers at hand. He didn’t expect to find a little merman instead, who’s been hiding in his aquarium for weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wet Kisses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blue_butterfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_butterfly/gifts).



 

“What the- Where the hell are you coming from?” Anders asks incredulously and stares at the tiny man, or rather _mer_ man _,_ whose head peeks out of the open hull of the sunken ship in his aquarium, staring at him with equally shocked eyes.

Terrified of being found by the human, the small creature named Mitchell ducks its head quickly and vanishes into the belly of the ship, leaving a dumbfounded Anders standing in front of the fish tank.

He flees to his makeshift sleeping place made of the long blades of the different local plants in the corner of his new home and curls into a ball, hiding his face in his shimmering midnight blue tail and shivers in fear of what the human might do with him, now that he’s been found.

The dark haired merman has been hiding in the aquarium for weeks now, always careful not to be seen by the blond human who likes to talk to the fish when he feeds them or just to check up on them.

But with Anders- he heard the name often enough when all those females came stumbling half naked into the room or his brothers came barging into the apartment- loving to watch his fish it was kind of difficult for Mitchell to catch some of the fish flakes (he doesn’t know which brand the blond uses but they taste way better than what he got in the pet store and he _loves_ them) for himself and therefore his meals were rather sparse on some days.

On the most days he’s glad for slipping into the bag between the four goldfish, driven by the need to leave the pet store and the scary children who kept knocking against the glass and giving him painful headaches with their excitement. But on other days, like when he can’t sleep because of the cramps in his stomach, Mitchell curses himself for his spur-of-the-moment decision.

Okay, there may have been another -slightly embarrassing- reason why he chose to slip into the plastic bag.

Mitchell always had a thing for blondes and Anders, with his bright blue eyes, the short blond hair and the outright adorable dimples, is exactly his type.

He’s seen the blond human a few times in the shop; and with every visit of Anders, every small smile on Anders’ lips when he looked into every fish tank of the pet shop, Mitchell fell a bit more for the man.

And when Anders wanted to buy a few goldfish from _his_ tank, he took his chance and slipped into the bag.

He may curse himself sometimes for his ill-conceived decision… but he does not regret it. This is his home now, a place where he feels like he belongs for the first time in his life.

Mitchell wanted to show himself to the blond after the first week of hiding in the ship, but when his first attempt didn’t go like he planned it (The first time he showed himself it was the lovely Dawn who fed the fish, and not to Anders, and despite the first fright on both sides, they became quickly friends and Dawn couldn’t stop cooing over him), he put it off to another day. And then the days turned into weeks and he still hid in the shipwreck.

And now he is lying here on his bed, waiting anxiously for the tell-tale sounds of the lid of the aquarium being opened by Anders and to be grabbed and put into a bowl to be returned to the store.

But nothing happens. The minutes tick by and everything remains silent.

Slowly Mitchell unfurls his tail and shifts into a sitting position, his dark fin moving nervously back and forth over his blanket and swirling up a bit of sand up. He looks at the entrance of his small home with uneasy eyes, his ebony orbs shining like black pearls in the soft white-blue light that illuminates the room.

Nervous that nothing has happened so far, the brown-haired merman flicks his tail and swims towards one of the windows that allows him a good view of Anders’ living room and kitchen.

With his back pressed against the wall Mitchell takes a fleeting glance outside, but all he can see are golden scales. Hissing in annoyance Mitchell tries to shoo the goldfish away, he even tries to bribe Gertrude with the prospect of a belly rub, but the stupid fish _doesn’t move away from the window_.

Grumbling, the merman runs a hand through his dark hair, mentally cursing the fish and thinking of a new, _safe_ way to check out where the blond human is right now. Technically Mitchell knows that it’s no use to know where Anders is, because with his size and being trapped in the tank, Anders could catch the merman easily with the hand net, but he wants to be prepared at least when it happens.

Taking a deep breath Mitchell decides to swim outside, not wanting to wait any longer and maybe he can finally talk to blond and hear his voice without it being muffled by the water.

With a gentle thrust of his tail he swims outside, his gaze wandering immediately to the big glass wall, and his black eyes begin to search the room for his tall ‘housemate’. And soon he finds what he is looking for.

The little merman spots Anders lying on the couch, only the top of the blonds’ head visible on the armrest, the rest of his body not visible for Mitchell. He can’t be sure, but it looks like Anders is sleeping… but he could be reading his new book too, the one Mitchell would love to get a sneak peek of after Dawn told him of it at her last visit.

Either way Mitchell decides to get the human’s attention. He grabs a small white stone from the ground and swims up to the glass wall, a few of the fish swimming closer to see what he is doing. But as soon as he starts knocking against the glass, the animals vanish in a flurry of bubbles.

 

* * *

 

 

_-Don’t forget to prepare the contract for the dog food-people. And don’t be late on Monday Anders!_

Snorting, Anders reads Dawn’s lovely reminder that he still has some work to do, even if he decided to send Dawn home early with the explanation that they should just start the weekend a bit earlier than usual. Because honestly, pondering about different marketing strategies is something he can do from his home too, while sitting comfortably on his couch and watching some TV; and if he remembers correctly Dawn said something about going out on a date with Ty, which is probably why she didn’t complain too much about it when he shooed her out of the office.

A grin appears on his lips and he is just about to type a sassy remark when he hears a soft tapping sound.

Frowning, Anders sits up and turns around, his right arm resting on the back of the couch and turning his eyes straight to the aquarium with his beloved fish, and his blue eyes are widening at the sight.

A small figure is knocking against the window with _a stone_.

“Hey! No no no! Stop!” The blond jumps from the couch and hurries towards the fish tank, his blue eyes glued to the merman who finally stopped knocking the stone against the glass and has backed away from the window, startled by Anders quick approach.

“Don’t do this, you could crack the glass and flood my apartment. And that’s something I really don’t need.” Anders gives the merman a scolding look before checking if there is any damage, but thankfully he finds nothing. Relieved, he turns his eyes back towards the dark-haired merman, looking into the deep black eyes.

A strange feeling overcomes him the longer he looks into the dark pools that stare at him with honest curiosity.

It’s the first time that he sees a merman outside of a book. He didn’t even knowthat they truly existed.

Mermaids yes, but mermen…

There are no records that anyone ever saw a living merman. Some even believed for a time that there were no mermen at all, that the mermaids found a way to sidestep Mother Nature and can reproduce on their own; but those thoughts were disproved the moment scientists got their hands on them.

In books it is speculated that the son’s of the sea are warriors, guarding the palace of their queen with all its riches and never leaving their posts, never to be seen by the human race.

Many scientists and historians tried to question the mermaids about the men, but nothing ever came of it; they just chirped something in their melodic language and ignored the inquisitive folk that dared to capture them and lock them up in golden cages.

Over time it became some kind of status symbol to own a mermaid and many people are paying a lot of money just to have one. The mermaids are held like birds with clipped wings; their new homes confining them to the small space of an aquarium, not giving them any opportunity to swim the extensive lengths they are used to.

Anders has seen the golden cages of many mermaids, seen the fairytale castles in the water that were supposed to resemble their old home, or the individual mental image of the owner which home would suit the mermaid best, ranging from castles to ships and even closable flowers and shells.

Since he’s been a kid he cannot look into the sad and hateful eyes of these beautiful supernatural beings and think that this is right, that the mermaids are _things_ that belong to humans.

Merpeople are not some kind of pets, they are living beings with an own culture and language. They shouldn’t be used as some kind of status symbol for the rich because they look so pretty and are hard to find and more difficult to catch. They shouldn’t be captured and torn from their families to be put into goldfish bowls, to be stared at like common goods and then to be sold to the highest bidder. They should be _free_ and not thrust into a world that isn’t theirs.

When he was six and saw for the first time a real mermaid caught in the fishnet of his father, a tiny girl the size of a chocolate bar with blue ribbons and pearls in her dark hair, and saw the fear in her black eyes, he carefully freed her from the tangled net and set her free. He didn’t care then for the wrath of his father for freeing something that could have brought them a lot of money, he just wanted her to be safe and back with her family.

Back then he vowed to himself that he would never imprison a mermaid. And now he looks into _his own_ _aquarium_ and looks into the dark eyes of this beautiful creature.

“Who are you… and how do did you get in here?” Anders asks the small creature that couldn’t be much bigger than his hand with a calm voice, slowly kneeling down to be on the same level as the merman and not even sure if the tiny man can understand him.

A glint of wariness clouds the dark eyes of the merman when Anders leans closer but the mer doesn’t move farther away.

Anders looks curiously at the merman and studies his handsome, human looking face; The dark eyes, set within his pale face, are framed by black hair that could be a dark brown should it ever get the chance to dry.

Amazed, Anders eyes the dark shadow of a beard on the merman’s pale skin, always believing the reports and books that the mermaids and mermen have smooth, hairless skin and that it is impossible for them to grow any hair save on their heads.

Fascinated, Anders lets his eyes travel downwards, over the man’s bare chest and following the delicious line of dark hair down to his navel, his eyes stopping for a moment to admire the gold and black tattoo of thick lines and foreign symbols on the merman’s side.

The tattoo begins on the merman’s left shoulder, starting with thin lines that quickly weave into complicated knotworks and celtic triangles over his ribs. The black lines are streaked with bright, shimmering golden threads which are getting darker towards the hip until they vanish in the black ink.

Over the hipbone, just before the tattoo merges with the shimmering scales of the midnight blue tail, a rose blooms in different shades of red-gold, the soft looking petals framed with delicate black lines.

The long fishtail has the color of the sky on a beautiful New Zealand night, the scales shimmering in a dark blue and the fin so dark that it looks almost black.

 _He would make a handsome human_ Anders can’t help but think silently for himself, _Would probably be tall too_

A sudden, annoyed flick of the merman’s fin draws the Kiwi’s attention back to the little man, his lips twitching into a small smile at the impatient look the mer is giving him, “Sorry, you’re my first merman… Or rather the first merman ever to be seen.”

The dark-haired merman nods in understanding, and if Anders is not mistaken he sees a faint trace of red on the pale cheeks and he can’t help but stretch his smile into a small grin.

Flicking his blue tail nervously the merman lifts his hand and points up, his lips moving to soundless words but Anders just stares at him with a confused expression, not understanding what the brunet might want from him.

Anders watches with mild concern how the merman gnaws at his lips for a second before swimming slowly to the surface, his dark eyes not breaking contact once with Anders’ blue ones.

The merman stops just a few centimeters below the surface, pointing up at the closed lid and making a pushing motions with his hands, throwing an expecting look at the blond.

Making an understanding noise, Anders nods and moves to open the lid to the aquarium, placing the heavy thing carefully onto the kitchen counter before quickly returning to the waiting merman, curious of what the mer might want to tell him.

The brunet greets him with a shy smile while running a hand through his hair and pushing some of the wet strands out of his face. Droplets of water are running down his face, following the curve of his long neck and rolling over his pale shoulders, letting the golden edges of the tattoo sparkle in the light.

A ray of light gets caught in the merman’s eyes when he swims closer to the blond and Anders breath hitches in surprise.

They are brown.

The former black pearls are now colored in a beautiful hazel brown with green spots sparkling like little stars in the brown ring.

But the surprise of the sudden change of the merman’s eye color is not as startling as the sudden words that leave the brunet’s mouth, especially when they are said with a distinct Irish accent.

“Hi! I’m Mitchell and it’s nice to finally meet you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :D  
> So what do you think?
> 
>  
> 
> Find me on tumblr : http://archer-and-lionprince.tumblr.com/


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